Formal
by komiket
Summary: drabble prompt - formal. Joker and EDI face legal complications surrounding her existence after the end of ME3. Takes place in the post-control universe.


It had truly only been a matter of time until the legal issues surrounding EDI and her existence would finally manifest. It wasn't long after the war that her new found celebrity status, along with the rest of the Normandy's crew, had the Alliance realizing they had no explanations of who she _was_ to present to the public. She had been truthful - to an extent - in the first round of questioning she'd been through, but it had not been enough to shield Jeff. He was now facing a number of charges, the most serious being his long-term concealment of her true nature, and the rumor of their personal involvement.

They were headed to the last of his meetings with the Alliance council now - and what would hopefully be the last. They had both been spared being court martial so far - only because there were no laws on record that directly stood against anything either of them had done. Jeff was correct in his prior research about this.

Adams and Chakwas came as moral support. They were following behind, arguing about whether or not it was acceptable that EDI had no legal rights, since there was never any provisions made in the case of the accused being a synthetic. Chakwas' opinion stood that EDI was nothing more than a computer, so it was unfair to punish her for not revealing her existence or for pursuing a relationship with Joker - you cannot place moral expectations on hardware. Adams mostly agreed, but argued that it was unacceptable to deny EDI personhood and it's rights when it was clear to most that she is a free willed and free acting individual in every sense - of course she kept secret her origins, for fear of being deactivated or rewritten - and her personal life should not be taken into account.

As with most arguments about how organics perceived EDI's true nature, she found herself agreeing with both of them.

How simple the whole matter was to Jeff - to him, she was just EDI, nothing more and nothing less, no questions or doubts about it. His confidence about this whole matter was immensely reassuring to EDI.

He charged forward, leading their small group, shoulders as straight as he could manage, eyes forward. EDI followed, taking smaller strides than usual, trying to get used to wearing the stiff formed material of the science uniform she had procured. Adams and Chakwas walked side by side behind her, still debating. She broke out of the line to quietly move alongside Jeff and hold his arm.

That caught his attention and he turned to look over at her, a little out of breath from the walk. "Hey…how's your trial goin'? Are they done yet?" EDI was attending her own case, in an office on the other side of the campus. They had only requested her presence, but said nothing about her chassis, so instead she was using a tightbeam broadcast to attend only in voice. They were displeased with her, but she found the oversight funny.

"A verdict was reached about two minutes ago. I have been instated into the Alliance, as a science officer." EDI spoke softly. She would inform the others at a later time, for now, she wished to speak as privately as she could.

Jeff furrowed his brow. "A…_science officer_. What the hell is that?" he chuckled slightly. "Sounds like something from a TV show."

EDI smiled at his amusement. "My skill set is too broad for me to be placed under any one role, so, they created a new classification. I am now Alliance personnel, but I am not part of any of the chains of command."

"So, you're officially part of the crew, but you're not really military?"

"Essentially."

He smiled broadly. "So people are gonna hafta start treating you like a person, and I still didn't break any of the regs about fraternization. Today's shaping up to be…uh…_not_ such a bad day!"

"I am happy about the outcome as well, happier still that this causes no further complications. They were planning to backdate my service, to recognize my time spent fighting in the war, but the protocols are too complex and would consume too much time to truly pursue."

"Oh, _now_ they're worried about wasting time! We just saved their asses a few months ago - they should be giving us medals, instead of making up shit we have to deal with." he rolled his eyes.

EDI received ping after ping on her visor's built in perception apps that indicted how tired he was, but she left the rest of her thoughts to herself. She had already asked too many times today if he was feeling well, inquiring too often about how his emotional stress level was. Concern could become an irritant if unchecked - it was not a line she wished to cross.

He must have been able to tell she was preoccupied - he laced his fingers through hers and gripped her hand tightly. "If worse comes to worse, and this all goes to hell, we'll just steal the Normandy again. They can't stop our hot, illegal robot-human-pilot-ship love affair in deep space!"

EDI considered this, forgetting to blink. It _was_ completely feasible - they had done it before. Supplies could be found as needed, and with the quantum entanglement communicator, they would never be without -

"EDI…"

"I know, Jeff. It was a joke."

"Yeah, but actually it wasn't a bad idea…just the two of us, alone and on the run? You gotta admit, that's pretty sexy."

"I agree. Can we also continue to wear these uniforms on occasion? I find yours to be very handsome. You carry yourself differently while wearing it. I noticed, and I am enjoying it," EDI mused.

"_Chyeah_ - don't even get me started on yours, never knew you'd get into the whole sexy scientist thing. I'm uh, definitely looking forward to seeing what other looks you're gonna try out…"

EDI smiled. "We can discuss this later - I believe we are here and it is time for the meeting to start."

The smile slowly dropped from his face - analysis said it was clear he was, to some extent, apprehensive. EDI leaned in, to get a better look at his face. "I would like to remain here, if that is acceptable. As you assistance mech, I believe I cannot legally be told to leave."

He gave her a small one sided smile, and whispered his thanks. She nodded, and went to stand against the wall with Chakwas and Adams.

EDI was surprised at how well Jeff handled himself amongst the proceedings. She did not expect him to have such immense comfort with navigating the complexities of rulebook after rulebook of regulations - she had asked him about it before, and he said a lifetime of knowing his rights and fighting for them gave him all the courage and knowledge he needed to make fighting for his right to be with her easy.

Still.

Unprompted scenarios generated amongst her current tasks. The theory to be simulated was this - whether the cases were won in their favor or not, perhaps Jeff, over time, would come to find the social stigma too emotionally distressing and would terminate their romantic agreement. He was an unconventional man, but she was unsure how far that comfort with being outside the norm extended.

She had, of course, considered these same dilemmas previously, even before they became involved, but it has been dismissed and marked as unlikely, due to the support and acceptance of those in their immediate social circle and the crew. It was an oversight on EDI's part to continually forget that the world was not as small as their ship.

EDI canceled all of the tasks. She trusted Jeff more than that.

No, it was not trust alone - it was courage that prevented her resolve from wavering. Trust is love - the two protocols are bound together, to guarantee functionality in both. But love requires immense courage, right from it's inception. It demands it.

During a pause in the proceedings, she broke away from the wall and came to stand before Jeff, kissing his lightly, his shoulders still squared and hat to his side.

Perhaps the visual of seeing that she too had a say in this matter, had a love worth defying the rules for, would have an effect on some people's opinions.

She pulled back ever so slightly, enough to just be able to speak, and whispered, "I believe a saying appropriate to this situation is, 'Let them talk.'"

All the agreement she needed was clear in his hooded eyes. the smallest smile tugging the side of his mouth up.

_We will be fine, Jeff. We have made it through every battle we have ever faced together. We will succeed in this challenge, too. _


End file.
